09 Mar Are Your Documentation Expectations “Documented?”
It would probably be difficult to find an agency staff member who isn’t aware documentation is key when it comes to E&O loss prevention. After all, for the last 40-plus years, every E&O class focuses on this key issue. Virtually every E&O claim is impacted by the level of agency documentation.
If you were to ask 10 agency staff what the expectations are for quality documentation, is it possible that you would get at least a handful of different responses? This lack of clear understanding among the staff can certainly lead to inconsistency. This is probably an even bigger issue with producers, as many seem to question the value that documentation provides. Essentially, what is the problem? And what would help solve it?
Most often, the issue is that there is no common understanding on exactly what the expectations are for documentation. Possibly, the expectations are verbalized and passed on from one staff member to another. If I came to work for your agency (not that you would hire me), how would you advise me of the expectations? How would I know the standards that you are asking me to achieve? Since I had previously worked in another agency, you might expect that I would know what quality documentation looks like. This is an “error or omission” you don’t want to make.
Bottom line, documentation is one of the most fundamental and important aspects of a quality E&O loss prevention program. To ensure consistency, the agency standards should be documented in writing for all employees to know, understand, and honor.
The documentation standards should include items such as:
- How are deletions of coverage handled? When the customer declines a specific coverage or limit, what is the expectation on how and when this should be memorialized in an email back to the customer and what information should be included?
- What is the expected time period for a telephone conversation to be documented in the agency system? Probably best to avoid statements such as “as soon as practical” as the meaning of this phrase could vary by agency staff member.
- What is the expected level of documentation for a phone conversation? It is strongly suggested that the actual name of the customer be included (as opposed to “insured”) as well as sufficient detail of the exact essence of the conversation. Ideally, the documentation should be such that another member of the agency staff could read the documentation and know exactly what was discussed and any next steps or open items.
- What abbreviations are acceptable and which words need to be spelled out?
Also, another good rule for documentation: Don’t put anything in the system that you wouldn’t want a jury to read.
The agency’s audit process should then measure the actual documentation against the standards.
Documentation is too important to leave to chance or to believe that the staff knows what is expected of them. Put it in writing – it is easy to do and will pay huge dividends down the road.